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U.S. Sen. Mark Warner and several other members of Congress called on Pres. Obama Friday to demand that France not deliver a pair of helicopter carriers to Russia. The letter went out Friday, ahead of a planned visit next week from French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, Warner's office said. France has agreed to deliver two Mistral Carriers to Russia in a $1.7 billion deal, with an option for two more. These things are no joke. Each one can carry "16 helicopters, four landing craft, 60 armored vehicles, 13 tanks, and up to 700 soldiers," the letter states. France has said it may review the deal, but it won't make any decisions until October, according to Reuters....

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U.S. Sen. Mark Warner and several other members of Congress called on Pres. Obama Friday to demand that France not deliver a pair of helicopter carriers to Russia.
The letter went out Friday, ahead of a planned visit next week from French Foreign...

U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk is again climbing the stairs of a Chicago skyscraper to raise money for charity and inspire others recovering from health problems. The Illinois Republican plans to participate in Sunday's "Hustle Up the Hancock" at the...

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— Facing a tough campaign almost three years after a stroke, Republican U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk says he is running for re-election in 2016 "come hell or high water."
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WASHINGTON — A military retirement ceremony was held Monday at the Pentagon for Sen. Mark Kirk, the Illinois Republican who spent 23 years in the Navy Reserve, his spokeswoman said.Kirk, who suffered a major stroke in January 2012, retired from the Navy...

The U.S. Senate on Tuesday night voted to confirm Jorge L. Alonso, a Cook County associate judge, and John Blakey, the Cook County State's Attorney's Office's head of special prosecutions, to vacant judgeships on the U.S. District Court for the Northern...

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In the minority after Republican gains in November's elections, Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois was sworn in Tuesday with a temporary gig: filling in for ailing Democratic leader Harry Reid.
Durbin, 70, said the Senate minority leader was "making a...

WASHINGTON — On a two-day swing through the nation's capital, Illinois Gov.-elect Bruce Rauner said he will meet Friday at the White House with his longtime acquaintance, President Barack Obama, after sessions Thursday with the Illinois congressional...

Republican Gov.-elect Bruce Rauner said Thursday he intends to use some of his own money to make needed improvements to the executive mansion in Springfield, where he said he and his wife intend to "spend the vast majority of our time."
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Mix a pitcher of martinis Tuesday evening to fortify yourself against the torrent of election returns painting a pointillist portrait of the nation's mind. Before you become too mellow to care, consider some indexes of our civic tendencies.
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Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois kept the No. 2 job in the Senate Democratic leadership Thursday and will be the assistant minority leader next year.
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U.S. Rep. Luis Gutierrez of Illinois will be among 12 members of Congress to visit a section of the U.S. border Thursday and Friday where tens of thousands of children have crossed into the country, his office announced Wednesday.
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Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl appeared "drugged" and "very weak" in a Taliban video shown to senators Wednesday during a classified briefing, the administration's most broad-ranging consultation with lawmakers after a controversial...

WASHINGTON — The five senior Taliban leaders released to Qatar after years of detention at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, are subject to strict bans on militant incitement or fundraising that might pose a danger to the United States, according to people familiar...

WASHINGTON -- Capping weeks of political brinkmanship that had unnerved global markets, President Barack Obama quickly signed an 11th-hour deal passed by Congress to end a partial government shutdown and pull the world's biggest economy back from the...